Volek, JS, et al.: A Ketogenic Diet Favorably Affects Serum Biomarkers for Cardiovascular Disease in Normal-Weight Men. Journal of Nutrition, July 2002.

Volek, JS, et al.: Body Composition and Hormonal Response to a Carbohydrate Restricted Diet. Metabolism, July 2002.

Two recently-published studies show that ketosis, the controversial metabolic process often associated with the Atkins Nutritional Approach(TM), may not only be harmless but may also be beneficial. One study demonstrated that subjects in ketosis, due to a controlled carbohydrate diet, experienced statistically significant improvement in blood markers that have been shown to predict coronary artery disease. This finding clearly refutes the claim that lipids improve solely as a result of weight loss. The second study found that people lost fat (an average of seven pounds), while actually gaining muscle (an average of two pounds) in only six weeks. In essence these individuals lost an average of five pounds not only preserving their muscle mass, but also increasing it. Both published studies come out of the University of Connecticut's Human Performance Laboratory and were conducted on normal-weight men with normal cholesterol levels.

The first study, "A Ketogenic Diet Favorably Affects Serum Biomarkers for Cardiovascular Disease in Normal-Weight Men", published in the July 2002 issue of the Journal of Nutrition, shows that ketosis is not only harmless but may actually improve the blood markers that have been shown to predict coronary artery disease. The results showed that fasting TG was decreased by 33%, post-meal lipids by 29%, LDL particle size increased, and fasting insulin concentrations by 34% after the ketogenic diet. LDL and total cholesterol were unchanged by the diet, HDL ("good" cholesterol) tended to be slightly increased, suggesting a favorable outcome in this predictor of improved cardiovascular risk.

The second study, "Body Composition and Hormonal Responses to a Carbohydrate Restricted Diet", published in the July 2002 issue of Metabolism, examined how the normal-weight body responds to six weeks of a carbohydrate restricted diet (8% carbohydrate, 61% fat, 30% protein) compared with a traditional diet (47% carbohydrate, 32% fat, 17% protein) that involved equal caloric intake. At week six, this study, with 12 subjects, found that people lost fat (an average of seven pounds), while actually gaining muscle (an average of two pounds). The average weight loss of five pounds was achieved while not only preserving muscle mass, but also increasing it. Because this positive change occurred in conjunction with lowered insulin levels (a hormone measured in the blood that is stimulated by carbohydrate intake and has been associated with the conversion of excess carbohydrate to body fat), it is postulated that the reduction in the hormone insulin was responsible for this.